Combined slicer, shredder, and dicer



Jan. 7, 1936. M. W. MCARDLE Erm. i 2,026,691

COMBINED SLICER, SHREDDER AND DICER Filed March' 29, 1934 2 sneers-sneetI 2 J7 SZ/Lgf Y J4 slices.

Patented Jan. 7, 1936 PATENT OFFICE COMBINED sLIcER, SHREDDER, AND

DICE

Michael W. McArdle and Ivar Jeppsson, Chicago,

Ill., assignors to Chicago Flexible Shaft Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporationof Illinois Application-March 29, 1934, serial No. 717,914

` 2 Claims.

This invention relatesv to food cutting machines and has particular reference to a device i'or selectively slicing, shredding, cubing, and redding vegetables.

The cutting operations commonly performed on vegetables or like material in the course of their preparation Aas food are of four general types. In one type parallel cuts are made in one direction across the vegetable which results in In a further type, parallel cuts in two directions at right angles to eachother are made forming square rods, such as used for French fried potatoes, and the like. In a third type, parallel cuts in three directions are made form- 15 ing cubes, and in a fourth type the vegetable 1.20 no simplel and inexpensive device for rodding or cubing vegetables, so far as I am aware, `or for combining the functions of slicing, grating, rodding and cubing in a single compact machine selectively operative to perform the various oper- 1;-25 ations.

An object of the invention is to produce a simple mechanism by means of which the several operations commonly performed in the preparation of vegetables and other foods may be expeditiously carried out through a single apparatus by an interchange of parts adapted to modify the character of the cutting operation.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a food cutter of simple and inexpensive form `for the cutting ofvegetables into cubes and rods.V I

Another object of the invention is the provision of a food cutter arranged for interchangeable use as a slicer, a dicer, and a rod cutter.

` A still further object of` the invention is the provision of improved cutter and feeding mechanism for Vegetable cutters. Other objects and attendant advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art from drawings, in which-V c n Figurel is a top view of a cutter arranged to carry out the vshredding operation, `the cutter 'guard and cutter plate being shown in section; f Fig. 2 is a fragmentary face view of, a cutter plate for slicing;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 5; Fig. 4 is a face View of the cutter plate as shown in Figure 1, the cutter plate being par- 45 the following description and the accompanying tially broken away and the hub being in a s el of Vthe spindle 2 I.

tion to show the method of driving Vthe cutter plate;

Fig. 5 is a side view partly in section showing the device arranged for cubing;

Fig. 6 is a section through the hopper and the guard showing the device arranged for rodding, and

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4'showing the device arranged for cubing.

Referring first to Figs. 1 4, inclusive, wherein 10 the device is shown arranged to perform slicing and shredding operations, the numeral 9 designates a hopper within which the vegetable or other material is to be voperated upon in this position. A vertical supporting member or table 1,5 clamp designated generally by the numeral II is secured to the bottom of the hopper and has the usualspaced fingers 2* and I3 (Fig. 5), the

Yiinger I3 carrying a screw I4 having a Vwing nut I5 and a foot I6. The device is designed for at- 20 tachment to a table in the usual way by clamping on the edge of the table. A frame I1 surrounds the open top of the hopper 9 and serves to reenforceA the hopper as wellas support a part of the operating mechanism. The frame carries 25 larms I8 and I9 adjacent to opposite ends of the frame and projecting laterally outward `in the same direction.i Spaced spindles 2| and 22 are supported between the arms I8 and I9 and extend longitudinally of the hopper 9 along one 30 sidey thereof,4 the spindle 22 having external threads, as best shown in Figures 1 and 5. The spindle 2| has bearing in the arm I8, as shown at 23 in Fig. 5, and carries a gear 24 enclosed within a housing 25 on the arm I8. Acrank 26 35 is secured to the end. of the spindle 2| by means of a nut 2`| and carries a handle 28 for rotation The spindle 22 is likewise journaled in the arm I8 as `shown at 29, and carries a gear 3| meshing with the gear 24 and enclosed in the housing 25. The opposite ends of the spindles 2| and 22 have bearing support in the arm I9 of the frame, as shown at 32 and 33.

A circular guard disk 34 is attached to the end of the hopper 9 against the arm I9 of the frame, 45 and has an opening 35 therethrough for discharge of material from thehopper, the opposite 'end of the hopper being closed by a plate 36.

able receptacle. 5,5

' presently appear.

The spindle 22 extends beyond the arm I9 and has a shoulder 39, a portion of reduced diameter 4|, and a flattened portion of still further reduced diameter 42 for the reception of the hub 43 of any of the cutter plates designated generally by the numerals 44, 45 and 46. The hub 43 has a flattened opening for the reception of the portion 42, as best shown in Fig. 4. A knurled nut 41 serves to draw the hub 43 against the shoulder 39 to firmly secure the cutter plate to the spindle 22.

Referring to Figures 1 and 4, the cutter plate 44 includes a sheet metal disk 48 having an annular flange 49 for stiiening purposes and provided with a plurality of shredding cutters 5| formed by striking up portions of the sheet metal of the disk. In Fig. 2, the cutter 45 consists of a sheet metal disk 52 having an annular flange 53 and a plurality of radial stiffening ribs 54. The disk is slotted, as shown at 55, and a blade 56 is secured in the slot so as to project from the face of the cutter opposite that shown in Fig. 2 a distance equal to vthe thickness of the .slice to be Ataken from the vegetable. Y

Referring now to Figures l and 3, a food pusher, .designated generally by the lnumeral 51, has a pusher plate 58 within the hopper having an annular shape to conform to the conguration of the hopper and carrying a plurality of spikes 59 on its forward face for engaging the material in the hopper. The pusher also has an arm 6| carried on the spindle 2| and xedly secured to the plate 58. The arm 6| also encloses the spindle 62, as best shown in Fig. 3, and has a latch designated generally by the numeral 64, supported in la slot 65 thereof. The latch member 64 is pivotally supported on the spindle 2|, as shown at 66, and has a lever 61 for rotation thereof about the spindle independently of the arm 6|. The latch has .a portion |58 extending into contact `with the spindle 22 and having threads 69 for engagement with the threads on the spindle r22. When the latch A|54 occupies the position shown in Fig. 3, the pusher 51 will be fed forward in the hopper 9 upon rotation of the crank 26. A spring and ball latch 1| serves to retain a latch in the engaged position shown in Fig. 3 or in a disengaged position with the portion 68 of the latch out of contact with the spindle 22.

The vpusher plate 58 has spaced openings 12 for the kreception of pins 13 and 14 of a cubing plate designated generally by the numeral and best shown in Fig. 6. A lever 16 is attached to the back of the pusher plate 58 Iby means of a pin 11 and is rotatable thereabout to bring the end 18 thereof into a slot 19 in the pin 1.3 so as to retain the cubing plate 15'against the pusher plate 58.

The cutter plate 46 is similar to the plates 44 and 45 in many-respects and .consists of a sheet metal disk 19 havingan annular stiffening flange 8| :and radial stiffening ribs 82. The plate also has a curved cutter blade 83 struck out from the material and extending .away from the inner face a-distance equal to the depthrof the cut, as will However, this cutter plate differs'f'rom those previously described in thatthe :hub-43 thereof has a portion 84 between the disk 19 'and the shoulder l39 to space the cutter from the guard plate 34. Interposed inthe space between therotarycutter plate-and the guard plate 34 is a stationary Ycutter 85, best shown in Figs. 6 and '1.

This consists of a frame 86 shaped to conform rsubstantially withrthe discharge opening 35 of .the hopper, the frame -86 having a plurality of parallel cutter blades 81 extendingthereaoross in one direction and a plurality of cutter blades 88 extending thereacross at right angles to the cutter blades 81 whereby to form rectangular openings between the cutter blades, as best shown in Fig. 7. The frame 86 carries a finger 89 adapted to extend through an opening 9| in the bottom of the annular flange 31 and a pair of fingers 92 and 93 attached to the top of the frame 86 and extending through openings 94 and 95 in the guard disk 34. The free ends 96 of the fingers 92 and 93 extend downward to enclose the forward end of the frame |1, as shown in Fig. 6. A bell crank lever 91 is pivotally mounted on the guard disk 34 through a pin 98 and carries on the extremity of one arm an arcuate cam 99 adapted to engage the finger 92 and urge the same firmly downward against the front end of the frame I1 to retain the stationary cutter 85 in position and prevent the force of the cutting operations from urging the cutter upward so as to release the same from its position across the discharge opening of the hopper. Limit buttons 19| and |82 limit the movement of the bell crank lever 91.

Directing attention .now more particularly to the method of operating the device and calling attention to Fig. 5, food to be diced such for example as beets, or carrots, is placed in the hopper 9. the latch 64 being opened and the pusher 6| being drawn backward to bring the plates 58 and 15 to the rear of the hopper. The latch 94 is then engaged and upon rotation of the handle 28 the vegetable will be forced through the stationary cutter 85. On passing through this cutter it will be cut into the form of square rods and as they emerge from the stationary cutter the rotary cutter plate 46 will intermittently sever the emerging material, causing the same to be cut into cubes. Attention is directed to the fact that the rate of feed, that is, the piece of the screw on the spindle 22 is so coordinated with the depth of the cut made by the cutter 83 and with the spacing of the stationary cutter blades 81 and 88 that the material will be advanced on each revolution of the cutter plate a distance equal to the spacing of the cutter blades 81 and 88, which in turn is substantially the same as the depth of cut made by the cutter 83 and consequently the nished material will be true cubes.

However, it is frequently desirable to cut raw potatoes for the purpose of making French fried potatoes, in this case the potato being out in the form of rods. In 'accomplishing this operation, the cutter plate 46 is removed and the potatoes are simply extruded through the stationary cutter 86. In this connection, it should be observed that the surface of the cubing plate 15 is provided with projecting cubes of substantially the cross-sectional area of the openings between theE cutter plates 81 and 88l and at the end o1 the stroke of the pusher plate 8|, these projecting cubes move into the spaces of the cutter plates 81, causing the last traces of food to be forced through the stationary cutter and preventing any of the material from being retained in the rectangular openings between the blades 81 and 88.

To perform the usual slicing, shredding and grating operations, the stationary cutter 86 is removed by rotating the bellcrank lever 91 to release the finger 92 and thereafter lifting the stationary plate to disengage the finger 98 whereupon the stationary cutter may be conveniently removed. Likewise, the lever 16 carried on the pusher plate 58 is rotated to an extent suicient for the removal of the cubing plate 15. Either of the cutter plates 44 or 45 are then placed on the spindle 22 depending upon the type of operation desired.

Special attention is directed to the fact that we have provided simple and convenient means for cubing androdding vegetables wherein it is only necessary to toss the vegetables into a hopper and turn the crank 26 to obtain either a cubed or rodded product. Likewise, by a simple removal of parts this device may be converted into a slicer and shredder. Through thus cornbining the functions into a single simple machine, the user is able to perform operations heretofore obtainable only with complicated and highly expensive machines, and to perform these operations with a single machine and not a multiplicity. Y

While we have thus described and illustrated a specic embodiment of our invention, we are aware that numerous alterations and changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and We do not wish to be limited except as required by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims, in which- We claim:

1. In a combined slicer and dicer having a rotary cutter, -means for driving the cutter, a hopper provided with a discharge opening. in close proximity to the cutter, and means for feeding the material in the hopper through said discharge opening and into said cutter, the combination therewith of a rotary cutter replacing feeding means, the plate having a cubed surface for entry into said extrusion openings to force the material therethrough.

2. In a combined slicer and dicer, a hopper provided with a discharge opening, a spindle adapted to selectively support and drive any of a plurality of rotary cutters adjacent said opening, including a rotary dicing cutter supported in spacedrelation thereto to cut material discharged therefrom and a slicing cutter directly adjacent said opening, a rotary dicing cutter on the spindle, means for feeding the material in said hopper through said discharge opening, a stationary dicing cutter having a rectangular lattice of cutter blades, releasable means for supporting the stationary cutter across the discharge opening and beyond the same when the rotary dicing cutter is supported on the spindle, and releasable supplementary feeding means for feeding the material beyond said discharge openings and through the stationary cutter.

MICHAEL W. MCARDLE. IVAR JEPPSSON. 

